American Men is the debut album from Soft People, a pure, brand-new, addicting new music project from Caleb Nichols and John Metz. Described by Nichols as “early Midlake having a baby with Broadcast and Clinic and Deerhoof and Boards of Canada“ and “America’s Best Gay Socialist Band,” Soft People’s first offering takes a harsh look at shady politicians, misguided masculinity, late-stage capitalism and our harrowing new reality in and out of the White House.

Case in point: “Man With a Gun” is a point-blank excoriation of firearm enthusiasts, “New Kampf” damns the new degenerates marching the streets, and “Daddy” would seem to hit the psychological, father-issues root of all of it.

While American Men often points its guns outward, the record is also hit by personal loss and drastic changes for the couple. Recorded during a period of time Nichols describes as “Our world basically collapsing,” the duo holed up in their Atlanta home and made a bunch of noisy pop music about it all. The results are glorious – the avant-garde-leaning Metz complementing Nichols’ Beat-les-y sensibility.

The world surely isn’t living as one, but with Soft People on our side, we may have a chance against the Blue Meanies. And while it’s a rare thing for a romantic relationship to work out as creatively as this, American Men proves it can be done with noise, anger, humor and a whole lot of melody.